Greater St. Helens League Football

• JD Ponciano
• 5’10″ 180 lbs

• Idaho State Bengals (RS Junior)
• Wide Reciever/Kick Returns
• Honorable Mention All-America honors from The SportsNetwork as a kickoff returner
• Returned 2 Kick-Offs For Touchdowns

• Hudson’s Bay Eagles (Class of 2005)
• 2 Year Varsity Letterman
• First Team All-League
• Team MVP
• Returned 4 Kick-Offs For Touchdowns

What was your most memorable moment playing high school football?

JD – The Homecoming game my senior year I caught a Hale Mary to win the game and everyone rushed the field. I remember it like it was yesterday. We had a really tough year and it was our first win of the season and our first win since the beginning of the previous year.

Did you have any game day/game time rituals in high school? If so, what were they?

JD – I’m not superstitious so I didn’t have a routine or anything, I just prayed before every game.

Get in the weight room, get involved in speed training, and eat right.

Who influenced you the most as a High School football player?

JD – My father. He played college ball and was the reason I started playing football.

How many different positions did you play from youth football through the end of your HS career? If you could have chosen another position other than wide reciever, what would have it been?

JD – I played QB, Corner, Safety, LB, RB, WR. If I could have chosen another position it would probably be corner. I think I could have been a decent corner if I would have stuck with it.

Explain your recruiting process. How many schools did you visit? Did anything interesting happen during this process?

JD – There wasn’t much of a recruiting process for me because I didn’t get very many looks.

What would you tell young kids entering high school is the most important thing (besides school) they need to do to become an elite level player?

JD – Get in the weight room, get involved in speed training, and eat right. Lots of guys spend time in the weight room and don’t get a lot done. I worked with a group of other guys who are playing Div. 1 football and baseball and we all worked out with a Speed and Strength coach Kevin Alexander. He runs his business,Sport Accel, out of Gold’s Gym in Salmon Creek. Whenever I’m home on a break I workout with Kevin to stay in shape. He changed the way I train and has helped me get to where I am. The last thing I would recommend is getting on a healthy diet, eating right has helped me see bigger gains from my workouts and perform better.

The night before games, even home games, we stay in a hotel and eat dinner together then have position, offense/defense, special teams, and team meetings.

What was your most embarrassing moment playing high school football?

JD – We got beat so bad a couple times my Senior year that I have tried to erase those games from my memory.

What was your most memorable moment (so far) playing college football?

JD – My first TD was probably my most memorable moment so far. I returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD and on my next kick return the next game I did it again.

Do you have any game day/game time rituals in college? If so, what were they?

JD – I pray with our team pastor and with the receiving corp, but I don’t have any rituals or superstitions.

Who influenced you the most as a college football player?

JD – My father. I talk to him every day and he always supports me and gives me advice.

Explain a typical week during football season with class, practice, game, other time.

JD – We have position meetings at 7am, then most guys have class starting at 8am until practice. In between classes you have to find time to get in a lift or you have to lift at 6am before meetings. After meetings, lifting, and class we practice. After practice most people eat and get some studying out of the way, or go to study hall if their grades aren’t high enough. The night before games, even home games, we stay in a hotel and eat dinner together then have position, offense/defense, special teams, and team meetings. The day of the game we eat breakfast/pre-game meal together, have a offense/defense walk through and head to the stadium. The day after the game we lift and run in offense/denfense units and have position and team meetings where we go over the film from the game.

Compare your relationship with your high school teammates to that of your college teammates. Assuming that you grew up with most of your high school teammates for years prior to playing together with them, and your college teammates came from all over the country.

JD – I am a lot closer with my college teammates than I was with my high school teammates because in college you spend so much more time together. There isn’t really time to do much else so you are together a lot. The majority of the team stays at school in the summer for conditioning and lifting so even when we are technically done with football we are still spending time together.

What was your most embarrassing moment playing college football?

JD – I lost a ball in the sun against PSU and it hit me in the chest and they recovered. Not only did it cost us a TD, but I had a ton of friends and family at the game.

Xbox, PS3, or Wii?

JD – Wii

Who is your favorite musical artist?

JD – Don’t have one

What was your favorite TV show in high school?

JD – Anything that showed college football, mostly ESPN

What is your favorite TV show now?

JD – People always laugh when I tell them this, but I hunt a lot and I don’t have a lot of time for TV so I DVR hunting shows

Do you have an iPhone?

JD – No

Do you prefer Madden or NCAA? Why?

JD – Never played either

How much college football do you get to watch during the season? (not counting film sessions)

JD – Just highlights on sportscenter or parts of games in the hotel before we go to the stadium.

What does J.D. stand for?

JD – Joshua Daniel